Nigel & Lois Harbron
'Initially, we were pretty clueless, but watching and learning from more skilled folk (always willing to give time and advice to us) meant it wasn’t too long before we started to make a useful contribution to reserve management. '
Nigel & Lois Harbron
Honorary Reserve Managers Lois and Nigel Harbron are some of our most long-standing, dedicated volunteers. We want to say a huge thank you to everyone in this group for the invaluable work they do. Nigel and Lois have volunteered with us for 30 years, taking part in many a conservation day and training course to hone their skills. Like all of our Honorary Reserve Wardens, they've put a huge amount of energy and love into helping nature thrive. Here's more from them:
'As our children became more independent some thirty years ago, we began to attend Cumbria Wildlife Trust working parties, initially almost anywhere in the county, but soon concentrating on the wonderful reserves in the Kirkby Stephen area (Argill Woods, Augill Pasture, Smardale, Waitby Greenriggs etc.).
Initially, we were pretty clueless, but watching and learning from more skilled folk (always willing to give time and advice to us) meant it wasn’t too long before we started to make a useful contribution to reserve management. The Trust has also helped significantly by sending us on various training days.
In time, we began to see opportunities for work, and would raise these with Reserves Officers to get permission to proceed in our own time. We keep a diary of what we have done, and almost invariably report on the day to Reserves Officers so that they know what has happened.
We'd describe our work as falling roughly into three areas: practical, conservation and monitoring. There are always practical tasks on reserves, such as path-work, step-work, and fencing and walling repairs.
Conservation work often has a practical element to it, but perhaps relates more directly to fauna and flora. We have done a lot of coppicing (particularly at Smardale), some hedge-laying and planting, and have ‘enjoyed’ many an hour trying to contain the spread of plant ‘thugs’ in areas where more delicate flora is still in with a chance. Last year, we cleared scrub from a section of track-edge at Smardale, and were rewarded this year by a splendid display of primroses and violets.
Usually during the summer months, it’s pay-back time when we go looking for and monitoring interesting species. It never fails to astonish us how much life there is on nature reserves.
We have enjoyed the company of many like-minded people over the years, and have been particularly impressed by the calibre of young people taking part in the current apprenticeship programme. With fit and enthusiastic young folk like these, we can begin to think about ‘retirement’ – but hopefully not for a while!